T36(CPM 481)-The Use Of Medical Terms And Abbreviations.docx

CPM 481 The Use of Medical Terms and Abbreviations Previously, the services of pharmacists in the hospital settings were basically dispensing of medications to both in-patient and out-patients. However, the roles of pharmacists have expanded in the recent time to include making ward rounds with th...

CPM 481 The Use of Medical Terms and Abbreviations Previously, the services of pharmacists in the hospital settings were basically dispensing of medications to both in-patient and out-patients. However, the roles of pharmacists have expanded in the recent time to include making ward rounds with the physicians, monitoring patients drug therapy, and identifying possible drug interactions. In the community settings, pharmacists not only dispense prescriptions but also provide primary healthcare services, treat and manage patients for mild ailments. To perform these professional roles effectively, clinical pharmacists must be able to communicate effectively with other members of te health team, in addition to understanding pharmacology and pharmaceutics. They must read physicians\' notes on the patients charts and must understand the terminologies and abbreviations used by the physicians. The pharmacist should appreciate the importance of laboratory tests for diagnostic purposes. MEDICAL PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES ----------------------------- Prefixes are phrases that are at the beginning of a word (pre = before); suffixes are attached to the end of a word. Learning the meaning of the following prefixes and suffixes will help one understand various medical terminologies commonly used in medical practice,   **A-, an-:** lack of or without. (eg, anovulatory, acynosed, afebrile, atony, aphasia) **Dys-:** abnormal, difficult, or painful. (dysmenorrhoea, dyslipidemia, dyspenea, dysuria, renal dysfunction) **ex-, e-** outside, away from, (eg ectopic, ectoderm) **-ectomy:** the surgical removal of something. (lumpectomy, appendectomy, ) **Gravid**a: adjective Referring to a pregnant woman, which is modified by the number of times she has been pregnant, regardless of the number of infants delivered at term; thus a woman pregnant for the first time is a primigravida, for the second time, secundigravida, etc. **Hemi**- half (hemiplegia, hemiachromatopsia) **hepat-, hepato**, pertaining to the liver. (hepatitis, hepatization, hepatemphraxsis, hepatomegaly) **-itis:** signifies inflammation.(tonsilitis, cyctitis, bronchitis, otitis media, etc) **-lysis:** destruction or breaking down.( Hemolysis, ).**megaly**: enlargement. hepatomegaly, splenomegay, cardiomegaly **myo-** pertaining to muscle or to muscularity (myocarditis, myoma, myopathy) **-ology:** the study of a particular concentration. **para**: a woman who has produced one or more viable offspring. Used with numerals to designate the number of pregnancies that have resulted in the birth of viable offspring, as para 0 (none---nullipara), para I (one---unipara), para II (two---bipara), para III (three---tripara), para IV (four---quadripara). The number is not indicative of the number of offspring produced in the event of a multiple birth. **-pathy:** A suffix derived from the Greek \"pathos\" meaning \"**suffering or disease(myopathy,** neuropathy, nephropathy**)** **Poly-:** many.(polycystic ovarian syndrome, polypharmacy) **-plasty:** surgical repair to restore or repair part of the body. **Retro-:** behind or backward, (retroflexed) rhea. An excess discharge or excretion, to flow (diarrhea, blennorrhea, eukorrhea) **rhin**- **rhino-**, pertaining to the nose (rhinitis, rhinopasty) **GENERAL TERMINOLOGIES** 1. ▲x -Diagnosis. Final opinion 2. ▲ Impression (Imp) initial opinion 3. **Abscess:**  a fluid-filled pocket that forms in tissue, usually due to bacterial infection.  4. **Acute:** indicates a condition that begins suddenly and can be severe 5. BMI- Body mass index 6. Blood brain barrier (BBB) 7. PCV- pack cell volume 8. RTA- Road Traffic Accident 9. A& E- Accident & Emergency 10. CVA- Cardiovascular accident 11. CPR- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation 12. HbAic- glycosylated haemoglobin 13. ECG- Electrocardiogram/graphy 14. GXM- Grouping & cross matching 15. BP- Blood Pressure 16. Hx- History 17. LKS- Liver, Kidney, Spleen 18. HBsAg- Hepatitis B surface Antigen 19. MP- Malaria parasite 20. PT- pregnancy Test 21. **DOA:** Dead on Arrival. 22. SH- Social History 23. FH- Family History 24. UTI- Urinary Tract Infection 25. URTI- Upper Respiratory Tract Infection 26. GCS- General Condition Stable, Glasgow Coma Scale 27. VDRL- Veneral Disease Research Laboratory (Test for Syphilis) 28. SJS- Stevens Johnsons Syndrome 29. PI- Present Illness 30. PUD- Peptic Ulcer Disease 31. PID- Pelvic Inflammatory Disease 32. OPD- Out Patient Department 33. SOAPE- Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan and Education 34. O/E- On Examination 35. O/A- On Admission 36. OTC- Over the counter drug 37. P.r,n- Whenever necessary, Pro re Nata 38. FOB- Faecal Occult Blood 39. FBG/S- Fasting Blood Glucose/ Sugar 40. RBG/S- Random Blood Glucose/ Sugar 41. SE/Cr/U- Serum Electrolyte Creatinine Urea 42. PSA- Prostate Specific Antigen 43. SGOT- Serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase 44. SGPT- Serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase 45. q.h- Every hour; quaque hora 46. tid, t.i.d, TID- three time a day; ter in die 47. qid, q.i.d, QID- four time a day; quarter in die 48. bid, b.i.d, BID- twice a day, two time a day; bis in die 49. BUN- Blood Urea Nitrogen 50. D& C- Dilation and Currettage 51. E.N.T- Ear, Nose, Throat 52. ICU- Intensive Care Unit 53. LMP- Last Menstrual Period 54. LBW- Low Birth Weight 55. LFT- Liver Function Test 56. IUD- Intrauterine Device 57. ESR- Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate 58. FBC- Full Blood Count 59. CBC- Complete blood count 60. FHR- Foetal Heart Rate 61. GFR- Glomerular Filtration Rate 62. OI- Opportunistic Infection 63. EDD- Expected Date of Delivery 64. PND- Paroxysmal Nocturnal Dyspnea 65. DOE- Dyspnea on Exertion 66. SOB- Shortness of Breath 67. RVD- Retroviral Disease 68. HARRT- Highly Active Anti- Retroviral Therapy 69. CCF- Congestive Cardiac Failure 70. MI- Myocardial Infarction 71. ROS- Review of System 72. K.I.V- Keep in View 73. M/C/S- Microscopic Culture and Sensitivity Test 74. IU- International Unit 75. hs- At bed time; Hora Somni 76. CKD- Chronic Kidney Disease 77. CPZ- Chlorpromazine 78. CMV- Cytomegalovirus 79. DM- Diabetes Mellitus 80. IVF- Invitro Fertilization 81. STD- Sexually Transmitted Disease 82. TIA- Transient Ischaemic Attack 83. HIV- Human Immunodeficiency Virus 84. HBV- Hepatitis B Virus 85. HCV- Hepatitis C Virus 86. HAV- Hepatitis A Virus 87. Ig A, E, G, M- Immunoglobin 88. TB- Tubercle Bacillus 89. VVF- Vulva Vaginal Fistula 90. Rh- Rhesus Factor 91. RA- Rheumatoid Arthritis 92. G-6-PD- Glucose -6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase 93. GP- General Practitioner 94. GIT- Gastrointestinal Tract 95. CPR- Creatinine Phosphokinase 96. CHF- Congestive Heart Failure 97. VS- Vital Signs 98. WHO- World Health Organisation 99. VLDL- Very Low Density Lipoprotein 100. LDL-Low Density Lipoprotein 101. HDL- High Density Lipoprotein 102. NSAID- Non- Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug 103. NT- Nasotracheal Tube 104. NVD- Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhoea 105. OA- Osteoarthritis 106. OD- Overdose 107. OGTT- Oral glucose tolerance test 108. COPD- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease 109. DKA- Diabetic Ketoacidosis 110. DOA- Dead on Arrival 111. DOB- Date of Birth 112. DOD- Date of Death 113. DRE- Digital Rectal Examination 114. CXR- Chest X-ray 115. D&V- Diarrhoea & Vomiting 116. D/C- Discontinue 117. D/S- Dextrose Saline 118. BW- Body Water, Body Weight 119. AFB- Acid Fast Bacillus 120. Ab- Antibody 121. Abd- abdomen (abdominal) 122. AIDS- Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 123. ClCr- Creatinine Clearance 124. CHD- Coronary Heart Disease 125. CHO- Carbohydrate 126. EENT- Eye, Ears, Nose and Throat 127. EP- Ectopic pregnancy 128. FEV- Forced Expiratory Volume 129. h/o- history of 130. GN- glomerulonephritis 131. FUO- Fever of unknown origin 132. HONK- hyperosmolar non-ketotichyperglycemia 133. HT, HTN- hypertension 134. WBC- white blood cell, white blood count 135. TNF-α -- Tumour Necrosis Factor alpha 136. AFR- Acute renal failure 137. ADR- Adverse drug reaction **MEDICAL PROCEDURES AND TESTS** The following medical terminology relates to procedures performed to measure the health of a patient and diagnose potential medical issues. There are many more terms to learn, but this list encompasses some of the most common medical abbreviations.  **Biopsy:** a small sample of tissue excised from a patient for testing. **Blood culture**: a test used to find any unusual bacteria or fungi in a patient's blood. **Blood gas:** a test to measure oxygen, carbon dioxide, and the pH of a patient's blood. **Blood pressure:** the measure of how well the blood is circulating. **CAT scan:** Computerized Axial Tomography. A form of diagnostic imaging. **Dialysis:** a procedure to filter blood for patients with kidney failure. **EEG:** Electroencephalogram. A diagnostic tool that measures electrical activity in the brain. **EKG/ECG:** Electrocardiogram. A test that records the electrical signals in the heart. **KUB:** Kidney, Ureter, and Bladder X-ray. Commonly used for diagnosing abdominal pain. **LFT:** Liver Function Test. Used to measure how well the liver is functioning in order to identify potential disease. **MRI:** Magnetic Resonance Imaging. A form of diagnostic imaging that uses a large magnet and radio waves to view inside of the body. **Intubation:** the insertion of an endotracheal tube to assist a patient's breathing. **Pulse:** the measure of a pulsating artery. **Pulse/ox:** Pulse Oximetry. A measure of oxygen saturation in the blood. **Ultrasound(USS):** a form of diagnostic imaging that uses high-frequency sound waves. USS- Ultra Sonography Sound(similart ones include: CT- computed tomography; MRI- Magnetic Resonance Imaging) **U/A:** Urinalysis. A urine test used to identify a range of disorders or disease. **Venipuncture:** the drawing of blood from a vein. ABBREVIATIONS RELATING TO MEDICATIONS ------------------------------------- The following medical terms list include common medications as well as abbreviations used in instructions for its administration. Although the use of l Medical abbreviations related to administering medication are often in Latin.  1. **a.c.:** from the Latin "ante cibum," meaning "before meals." Related to the timing of administering medication. 2. ASA**:** Acetylsalicylic Acid, commonly known as aspirin. 3. ACEIs: Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors 4. ARBs: Angiotensin Receptor Blocker 5. BDS**:** from the Latin "bis die sumendum," meaning "two times per day." Typically in reference to when medication should be administered. 6. bid, b.i.d, BID- twice a day, two time a day; bis in die 7. hs- At bed time; Hora Somni 8. INH- Isoniazid 9. **Mane:** the Latin for "in the morning." Typically used in reference to when medication should be administered 10. **OD**: Once daily. 11. **Nocte:** the Latin for "at night," often in reference to when medication should be administered. 12. **NSAID:** Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug. Ibuprofen, aspirin, and naproxen are NSAIDs. 13. P.c- after meals; Post cibum 14. **PO:** the Latin for "per orem," or orally. 15. **PR:** the Latin for "per rectum," or rectally. 16. **PRN:** the Latin for "pro re nata," or \[to be taken\] as needed. 17. q.d- Every day; quaque die 18. **QDS:** the Latin for "quarter die sumendum," or four times a day. 19. qid, q.i.d, QID- four time a day; quarter in die 20. **Rx:** Shorthand for prescription. 21. SP: Sulphadoxine+pyrimethamine 22. Stat- Immediately, Statim 23. **TDS:** the Latin for "ter die sumendum," or three times a day 24. tid, t.i.d, TID- three time a day; ter in die